UP! Your Service - Blog

Today we use sophisticated technologies to learn a great deal about our customers. We track what they like, what they spend, what they search for, where they go, and how often they return. Yet despite all this new “big data” and the insights it can deliver, customers all over the world still appreciate “Old School Customer Service”.

These four “Old School Customer Service” techniques are time-tested, and they work as well today as they have for generations.

The CEM Telecoms Conference speaks with Jeff Eilertsen, UP! Your Service VP Client Success, to learn how companies can optimize service efficiency while also improving customer experience. Learn how you can achieve these goals simultaneously […]

In a competitive global market where products are commoditized and speed of delivery easily matched, quality service is a key differentiator in every industry – including engineering, manufacturing, production, logistics, IT, and more.

Enjoy this selection of “Top 5” thought provoking posts. Read, reflect, write a comment, and share these ideas with others. Happy New Year everyone! How to Increase Productivity and Improve Service Simultaneously by Ron Kaufman […]

Your organization is going to get some sand in the gears, and when that happens, it’s your job to keep your people focused and enthusiastic. How do you do that? You find opportunities to educate. You recognize individual successes. You role model what needs to happen and then recognize when other people act as role models. You acknowledge service achievements.

Read on for six tips on how you can strengthen your team by keeping them motivated to provide uplifting service.

In this two-part blog series, I’ll provide tips on how you can strengthen your service team.

Here, in Part I, we’ll take a look at the steps you can take to make it easier for your employees to provide great service to your customers or clients.

We love receiving great customer service. That’s no surprise. But did you know that great service can actually elicit a physical reaction? A recent American Express Service Study found that 63 percent of its 1,620 respondents said they felt an increased heart rate when they just thought about great service. And for 53 percent of those studied, great service caused them to have the same cerebral response that results from feeling loved. The trick, of course, is developing a customer service team that has the skills to provide such an overwhelming reaction amongst your customers.

When considering quality of service around the world, many stereotypes can be applied. We may think certain countries or cultures naturally excel at service, while others are very efficient but not very friendly. And we may even see some countries where service appears to be an altogether low priority. Yet while stereotypes persist – and may have basis in personal experience – I have accumulated more and more experience in countries across the globe, and everywhere I teach and travel, I observe 3 things we all have in common:

1. Service expectations are local.

How people understand and evaluate service, especially front line customer service, is based on the world they live in every day. We judge the service we receive by comparing it to our own experience. This everyday experience varies widely for people from Nairobi to Shanghai to Delhi to Seattle. Defining service excellence is relative to what we experience around us.

Especially during the busy holiday season, customers wait on hold for an eternity. Complaints go unanswered. Salespeople and customer service providers seem more like Scrooge than Santa’s helpers. If you think customer service has taken a nosedive, you’re right, says Ron Kaufman—but there’s a lot you can do to change that. Read on for his tips for being a better customer.

I recently stayed at the Banyan Tree resort in Macau. This was my first time staying with the 5-star Banyan Tree group. All I knew was that the Macau property is a high-rise urban resort in the city with modern living, unlike the other Banyan Tree resorts built with nature-filled living and relaxation. I expected to indulge and be pampered with service excellence – as I would in any other hotel of equal standing.

When I arrived at check-in, the staff member mentioned my name in a tone and style that made me like feel they had been waiting just for me. That felt good, especially after a long flight and drive to reach the destination.

The Conference Board says business leaders are seeking to drive growth by “focusing on people, performance, reconnecting with customers, and reshaping the culture of work. They see a renewed commitment to customers, innovation, and the corporate brand.”